This blog is all about Rotherhithe, past and present. The main themes are heritage, wildlife and news items that may be of interest to local residents. If you have any questions or would like to comment or ask me to cover any particular topic you can email me at andie [at] rotherhitheblog.co.uk. I am also on Twitter @AndieByrnes

Monday, August 31, 2015

Update: Between Bridgers by Mary Wilson

Some blog readers will remember me asking for information about F. Mary Wilson's small book Between Bridgers, which has been out of print for a very long time and is almost impossible to locate by anyone wanting their own copy. I am delighted to announce that Between Bridgers has now been made available on the British Transport Treasures website for download as a PDF e-book. The site is run by Stuart Rankin, one of Rotherhithe's most prominent local historians, who has published numerous booklets about Rotherhithe, its docks and its ship building past. There is a small fee of £1.05 for downloading the book, which helps to cover the hosting costs and day to day running of the website, and for each sale made 5p goes to the Help for Heroes charity. It's a great opportunity if you would like to know more about the Downtown area of Rotherhithe in the 1960s, when the Surrey Commercial Docks were still open, and when life was unrecognizable to those of us who have come into the area since the closure of the docks.

For readers who didn't see my posts on the subject, Mary Wilson wrote a much-loved book about Rotherhithe called Between Bridgers, which focused in particular on the Downtown area and was illustrated throughout by Mary Want. Mary Wilson was a resident of Rotherhithe's
Downtown area, the Head Teacher of Redriff Primary School and had expert knowledge of
the area. More than that, she had a real feel for the place, its
present and its past. The "bridgers" of the book's title are the swing and lift bridges that crossed a
number of cuts (links between different docks) in the Surrey Commercial
Docks. Although the book is not exclusively about Downtown, it does
take a distinctly Downtown-centric view of things, and that's really
refreshing because most books about Rotherhithe focus on the area around
St Mary's Church, which is nowadays referred to as Rotherhithe village.

For more books about Rotherhithe available from British Transport Treasures, see the side bar to the right.

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A History of South Dock

I have assembled all my posts concerning the history and heritage of South Dock into a website of its own, which seemed to be a requirement following the announcement of the St George's Wharf development that will overshadow the South Dock area. It can be found at:http://southdockse16.wordpress.com

Aberdovey Londoner

In July 2018 I moved to Aberdovey on the mid Welsh coast, and began a blog there. It is a very different place and experiences are all completely novel. If you are interested, you can find it at https://aberdoveylondoner.wordpress.com

Port of London Study Group

If you are interested in the archaeology and history of the Port of London you may be interested in the Port of London Study Group, a self-guided research group that operates out of the Museum of London. Find out more at http://portoflondonstudy.wordpress.com.

British Transport Treasures

This blog is run with considerable assistance from excellent local history publications written by Stuart Rankin. His works are my starting point for all history posts. Stuart has set up a website, called British Transport Treasures, that specializes in out of print publications which can be downloaded as PDFs that can be saved and printed. Out of print publications are a nightmare for anyone attempting local history research unless they have access to a specialist library and archives. British Transport Treasures is expanding fast with an ever-growing catalogue of titles. Each of the publications is described with a magazine-style short review to explain the scope of the content, and provided with a preview of the cover and first page. There is a nominal cost for each, to cover the costs of hosting and running the site, and 5p per item sold is donated to Help For Heroes. I am a massive fan of the site and what it is attempting to do, and as it has a number of publications concerning Rotherhithe I have drawn attention to some of them here.